Captain's Corner

Is Speeding Really So Bad?

Great strides have been made in improving safety on our roads in recent years. Seat belt use has increased, drunk driving deaths have decreased, and more attention is being called to distracted driving. But speeding continues to be a blight on street safety. In 2016, and for most of the past two decades, around a third of all fatalities were caused by speeding drivers (NHTSA).

Why is speeding so dangerous?

The faster a driver is travelling, the less time he has to react to anything around him. As USA Today reports, when a speeding driver crashes, it’s more likely that there will be an injury, that injuries will be severe, and that deaths will result. This is true for not only speeding drivers, but for other drivers, passengers, bicyclists, or pedestrians on the street around speeders.

Speeding drivers put everyone at risk. So why doesn’t speeding get more attention?

Unlike distracted driving or driving under the influence, speeding isn’t looked down upon socially. There are no national campaigns to encourage drivers to slow down. The Governors Highway Safety Assocation (GHSA) encourages just that to address speeding- national high-visibility campaigns to crack down on speeding and aggressive driving.